The Court found "..Apple has failed to establish that Amazon made any false statement (express or implied) of fact that actually deceived or had the tendency to deceive a substantial segment of its audience. The mere use of “Appstore” by Amazon to designate a site for viewing and downloading/purchasing apps cannot be construed as a representation that the nature, characteristics, or quality of the Amazon Appstore is the same as that of the Apple APP STORE."

The Court held that "...if an advertisement is not false on its face (i.e., if there is no express or explicit false statement), the plaintiff must produce evidence, usually in the form of market research or consumer surveys,showing exactly what message was conveyed that was sufficient to constitute false advertising." Apple failed to do so in this case. Round one to Amazon.

Apple has already obtained a mark for App Store with the OHIM but this new gang of opponents are seeking to have this reversed on the grounds that such term is generic and has been used by everybody for a long time.

If Apple is able to hold on to the right of exclusive use of this mark, it would be huge. The price of poker just went up.

You will remember that Apple has applied to the USPTO for registration of the mark "APP STORE". Dedicated readers of this blog were informed in January that Microsoft was opposing the issuance of such mark for Apple.

Amazon.com is now allegedly using the term "APP STORE" to solicit software developers for future software development and distribution. Apple is having none of that and has filed suit in the Northern District of California alleging that such use by Amazon.com constitutes trademark infringement and several other heinous sins. The suit asks for injunctive relief, damages, a constructive trust and attorneys' fees.

It is evident that "APP STORE" has become part of the popular lexicon and if one party is entitled to use it to the exclusion of others, it is a very valuable property. The holy trinity (Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com) will continue to duke it out over this issue and the birds will just get angrier.